Who am I?

Hi there! My name is Alessandro Fiore. I’m computer scientist, game developer and I am currently finishing my thesis for a Cybersecurity MSc in Barcelona.

This website acts as a portfolio and introduction to who I am and my journey in the industry.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my portfolio and most importantly Welcome!

Software Engineer @ Lockwood Publishing

I’ve worked at Lockwood Publishing as a Software engineer on the R&D team from June 2021 to October 2022. We worked on new tech and features for the company’s main game called Avakin Life. The role was Unity based, working mostly in C# for the majority of the tech, HLSL for graphics, C and SQL for databases. My role focuses on User Generated Content, UI development and Bug fixing/Code optimization.

The role has allowed me to become comfortable with all aspects of Unity and C#, alongside allowing me to efficiently Test and Debug code, become proficient with GIT and source control within a team and many other soft skills. This role was my introduction to the Games industry and has really boosted me from a computer scientist to a fully fledged Software Engineer.

Other Work experience

• Student Ambassador for Computer Science for 3 Years at Newcastle university, leading talks and events for prospective students

• Student Experience Ambassador for Unite Students for 2 years, focusing on running and organizing community events for Students

• Sales associate for Unite students, supporting new and returning students living in unite students accommodations throughout Newcastle upon Tyne

• Research assistant intern at University of Bologna for research in agile development for military projects

Quantum Cryptography and AI

During the second semester of my cybersecurity MSc I was able to learn more about the field of quantum computing, which was an area of computing that was fascinating to me. During this semester i specialized in quantum cryptography and quantum based AI training. We focused on both understanding the mathematics behind quantum circuits and mathematics, as well as simulating and creating various circuits to show off the main concepts of quantum computing. The highlights from both courses were our deep research into Schor’s algorithm, and the possibility of RSA being cracked in the future, and being able to train an using 4-dimensional q-means in order to differentiate flower species in the toy-box  7.1.1 iris dataset.

Team Leader for Cybersecurity Management

During the Cybersecurity MSC, for one of the modules we worked on creating a fake company, and creating a full ISMS scheme for the company. This came alongside creating policy documents, audits, risk assessments, responses and treatment plans. My role focused a lot on organization, and assigning tasks to other team members, alongside keeping a detailed log of work and tasks, alongside correcting, updating and presenting our project. I deeply enjoyed the subject and have found a deep passion for this area and am excited to grow my knowledge and experience of the subject.

Traffic Monitoring and Analysis Project

For the TMA module, we created a set of program, including web scrapers, AI models for threat detection, and a simple algorithm, we were able to scrape and analyze a large set of governmental websites (.gov, .gob, …). From this were were made the “securi-score”, a security score we calculated for each site, country and continent. From this were were able to rate an critique different countrie’s cybersecurity practices, especially the safety of potential users of these websites. 

Malware Project

For our malware module, alongside 4 colleagues, we created a full hack scenario. Starting from a simple Trojan horse file, we were are to gain remote admin access to a victims computer via privilege escalation exploiting a 2022 Ubuntu heap overflow vulnerability. From here we can run a ransomware attack, set up the device for future attacks by opening a permanent outward SSH connection, or infect a connected ssh server with a Trojan that’s able to propagate on the victim’s network, all while remaining undetectable by the victims machine.

MSc Games Engineering Thesis

Near the end of my MSc course I began working for Lockwood Publishing, and thus my Dissertation for the MSc reflected the work I did at the studio. The Dissertation is titled “Efficiently and Effectively allowing users to Create and Modify 3D Objects in Game”. The dissertation focused on the technical, design and ethical issues that arise when giving players the power and tools to modify and create in-game objects.

The research for the dissertation covered a variety of ares including but not limited to HCI and Ui Design, Human and AI content moderation, Coding and graphical techniques to maximize program efficiency and Game design to minimize potentially unwanted material.

BSc Computer Science Thesis

My bachelor’s dissertation is titled “Gamification of Block Programming as a Means of Introduction to Computer Science”. It was based around creating a Unity game to teach OOP concepts to students relatively new to programing and computer science as a whole.

The game was a level based block programing challenge which used logic puzzles to teach concepts such as inheritance and polymorphism.

The story revolved around the abandoned robot T.O.B.Y. having to traverse levels to fix his spaceship. The game was fully programed and drawn by me.